Animal leashes are used commonly by animal owners for handling, training, and restraint of animals. While leashes are most commonly used with dogs, leashes are also used in the handling of a variety of animals, including but not limited to: cats, horses, and the catching of wild animals. Leashes are also used for humans, such as toddler leashes to keep children from running astray. Most animal owners use a leash with a snap clasp engageable with a pet collar having a D-shaped ring. The clasp can be cumbersome to use for animal owners with health conditions that can impair or degrade the use of hands to open and close the leash clasp, such as arthritis, stroke, amputees, or other dexterity limitations of the hands. Due to the snap clasp being small and cumbersome to use, the snap clasp can be difficult to both get a leash quickly engaged or disengaged with a collar to take care of the needs of an animal. At times for safety reasons, a handler can desire to quickly release an animal, such as when an animal is becoming too excited or becoming aggressive and a danger to the handler. Under these circumstances, the handler can have difficulty approaching the neck of the animal to release the snap clasp without being put in danger of harm.
Various types of animal leashes are previously known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,499,437 discloses a magnetic connector that includes a first and second connector part, each having a respective magnet. The magnetic connector disclosed automatically aligns the two parts with respect to one another when the two parts of the connector are brought closely together and automatically mechanically interlocks the two parts of the connectors when tension is applied. Tension on the pet leash automatically moves the first connector part to a second position, and thereby automatically mechanically interlocks the first and second connector parts.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,389,750 discloses a leash and collar system having a unique coupling that can be quickly attached and detached with one hand even while the coupling is pulled in tension. The coupling has male and female sections that selectively interconnect. A magnet is disposed within the receptacle at a base of the receptacle. The male section has an internal plunger that selectively moves between a forward position and a rearward position. Locking elements protrude from the male section when the internal plunger element is in the forward position. The locking elements prevent the male section from being retracted out of the receptacle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,810,234 discloses a quick release dog leash or tether having means remote from the tethered dog for quickly releasing the dog from the tether. In order to attach the leash to a dog wearing the collar, the operator puts his hand in the strap, pulls a ring to retract a bolt. The collar attachment is then placed into the clasp, the ring retracts allowing extension of the bolt, and the leash is secured to the collar.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,629,511 discloses a leash assembly designed to accomplish a quick release or detachment of an animal from a tethered position and/or a quick reattachment into a tethered position. The assembly includes a release structure axially moveable along a length of a lead. A distal end of a release cable is connected to a rotating coupling assembly structured to removably connect a collar, harness, or similar assembly to the distal end of the lead. An activation assembly connects adjacent to the proximal end of the lead and, when selectively positioned, serves to orient the release structure into a disconnection position relative to the coupling assembly, such that the components can be easily released.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,955,138 discloses a retractable leash assembly structured to facilitate quick connection of an animal to a lead interconnected at a proximal end to an activation assembly and to a quick connect coupling assembly at a distal end. The leash assembly includes a release structure disposed in a communicative relation with the coupling assembly structured to removably connect a harness, collar, or similar attachment assembly to the distal end of the lead. The activation assembly, after actuation, transmits a signal to the release structure to dispose the components of the coupling assembly into a release orientation, such that components can be easily disconnected from one another.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,640,639 discloses a quick connect coupling assembly having a first and second component, and a locking assembly structured to retain the components in an attached orientation with one another. The locking assembly includes a plurality of locking elements, each having a locking arm with a locking member mounted to a distal end, wherein the locking members are maintained in an outwardly extending orientation by a biasing mechanism. The biasing mechanism can include magnetic biasing element structures to create a repulsive magnetic force between one another.
U.S. Pat. No. RE 34,351 discloses a remotely detachable animal leash. The jaws of the catch of the leash are latched by a yieldably biased sleeve retractable by a pull cord extending reward to the handle of the leash. When the cord is pulled, the catch mechanism releases from the closed configuration to the open configuration.